On Thursday February 24, the Ukrainian government’s website was hit by Russian cyber-attacks, prompting questions about similar hacks here in the UK.

And with data gathered by Statista showing that 88 per cent of UK households own at least one computing device, it’s worth brushing up on our at-home cyber security.

News Shopper spoke to Andrew Holland from south east London IT repair company We Are AR Repair to get his advice on keeping our computers safe.

Andrew said that much of cyber security comes down to simply being vigilant.

He explained: “Have a look yourself, see what you can trust and what you can’t trust.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Giving an example, Andrew added: “Given the current climate, you might see something asking for donations and think ‘oh yeah, I’ll do my bit, I’ll donate five or ten pounds’.

“But you need to be careful, look for indicators like charity numbers or make sure you’re donating via a valid scheme like GoFundMe of Get Giving.

“Otherwise, you might not realise that your money has gone to a scammer and you’ve lost five or ten pounds, and that scammer has quite possibly stolen your bank details as you’ve been giving a donation.”

Andrew also pointed to email scams, again calling for computer users to be careful what emails they’re opening.

He explained: “When it comes to emails, it’s very tricky.

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“It can be something as simple as a link, an attachment, or even the email itself.

“We call it fishing. They send out a slew of spam emails using someone’s email address, it might be a friend or a family member, something you recognise.

“They might send you an email and because it’s got that name that you recognise, [scammers] know you’re probably going to open it.

“And now they’ve got your details. Again, that’s being vigilant.

“If you’re getting an attachment on an email that seems to be from someone you know, it might be worth checking in with that person and asking if they’ve sent you something.”

Andrew added that another way to keep your device safe is to avoid “open source” WiFi.

He continued: “Another insurance is to avoid open source WiFi, [the ones] that you don’t need a password to log into.

“These are key places that hackers and scammers use.”

He said it’s also important that computer users don’t reuse the same password over and over again, and consider investing in password software such as NordPass.

Such software can save your passwords and means you don’t have to login to accounts by typing in your password each time.

Andrew explained: “There’s also now a lot of password software.

“What they do is they help you come up with secure passwords so you’re not using the same password for everything.

“Using the same password for everything is one of the biggest things putting us at risk.

“All it takes is for someone to get one of your passwords and they’ve probably got access to all of your stuff.

“This software doesn’t only help you make passwords, but it lets you store them.

“So it keeps a note, even if you buy a new computer, it’s logged them all.”

Andrew also said it’s important that computer owners invest in simple security software like Norton.

“A lot of anti-virus software has now been upgraded, so it’s not just anti-virus but offers internet security,” he said.

As for the tell-tale signs that your computer has been hacked, Andrew said it’s often hard to decipher.

He shared: “In some cases that’s something that people can’t even see.

“Hackers can use a trojan, go into your computer without you knowing and copy every single keyboard stroke and get access to pins, passwords, bank details - they can get all that stuff without you knowing.

“They could just be watching all of your keystrokes on a programme sitting at home, just watching you type in all your passwords and all your bank details.

“Other times it looks like they’re actually trying to use your computer in front of you.

“Another common sign is that some people notice a couple of performance issues, for example the machine is slowing down or not performing as well.

“Or they see the cursor moving when they’re not moving it.”

Andrew also said that even free anti-virus and cyber security software can be sufficient.

He added: “It’s all about the layers.

“How protected do you want to be?

“If you work at home and you don’t use many free wifis, then I would say free protection would be sufficient.”

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